While people in other parts of the country were still celebrating the New Year holiday, a hands-on workshop on construction of solar dryers was held in Barchadiv village (Bartang valley, Gorno-Badahshan Autonomous Region) for 20 women from the villages of Yapshorv and Barchadiv.

The ladies in question are involved in the Project "Clean Energy: Sustainable Communities" implemented by the Little Earth with support from the Democracy Commission Small Grants Program (US Embassy in Tajikistan).

The event was organized by the Little Earth with assistance from its local partner – the non-governmental organization Oyandasoz. A local artisan and a professional carpenter, Rahmatnazar Mamadamonov, was invited to act as the key instructor during the workshop. With his vast experience in construction of energy efficient stoves, energy saving doors and windows and solar dryers, Mr. Mamadamonov was glad to share his knowledge and technical tips with the workshop participants.

The workshop informed the women from the project target group about the main operation principles of solar dryers. They learned about benefits associated with their use and tried their hand, with the instructor's assistance, in constructing several dryers themselves. Initially, a three-day event was envisaged. However, due to bad weather conditions the hands-on workshop had to be extended for five days. But the ladies, engrossed in active dialogues, discussions and practical work, refused to be discouraged by such an eventuality. As a result of their joint efforts eight solar dryers were constructed. All of the dryers were distributed between the participants themselves based on their vote. Apart from the general guidance about operation of the solar dryers, all the workshop attendees received pin-up calendars and other information materials.

"I am glad to have learned about this method of drying fruits and vegetables. I already heard before that such devices were used by women from the neighboring village who had participated in the Little Earth's last year project. According to them the devices are very handy for drying fruit and easy to use. Now that we have constructed several dryers of our own we are looking forward to test the result of our work" - said Zerabonu Malabekova from Yapshorv village who participated in the latest workshop.

It should be recalled that the above group of 20 women already took part in the capacity building training event held last autumn. All the female participants of the project "Clean Energy: Sustainable Communities" are soon to receive a set of resource saving factory-made equipment, including a solar cooker, energy efficient stove for cooking and a portable solar lantern. All beneficiaries of the project are women from the most vulnerable and poor families.